Coming Soon.
TONKIN, John William
Personal Details
| Service Number: | 5241 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 18 August 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
Service History
World War 1 Service
| 1 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5241, 8th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Suffolk embarkation_ship_number: A23 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5241, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suffolk, Melbourne |
Personal Stories
Why he signed up at 42 years
Little is known about my great-great-grandfather, William. He was 42 years old when he signed up, and died less than five months after leaving Australia. The story in the family is that he signed up in place of his only child, his son John.
If anyone has any more information about William, it would be so greatly appreciated. There are no photos of him in our family, so my grandfather Leonard, William's grandson, has gone 92 years without knowing what his grandfather looked like.
Submitted 12 November 2018 by Samantha Tonkin